"I'm definitely still stinging, there's no doubt about it, to work your whole life to be in position to win a golf tournament you've always dreamed of" and then fall short, said Spieth, who finished in a tie for second place, three shots behind champion Bubba Watson. "But I never expected to be in that position maybe this early [in my career], so I'm definitely looking back at all the positives going forward."

One lesson learned: Don't get greedy at Augusta National.

Spieth, 20, said that happened when he stepped to the tee at the famed par-3 12th on Sunday. He landed his shot too short and watched it roll back into the water. He ended up making bogey, all but dashing his bid to catch Watson and become the youngest Masters champion.

"To be honest, that was a rookie mistake," Spieth said. "My caddie and I had talked about hitting it over to the right side where all the veterans hit it. I got over the ball and felt very comfortable and confident and didn't really stick to the game plan. I tried to work it into the hole.

"In the long run, it's probably better that it worked out that way than if I pulled it off, because now I'll sit back and look at it and realize you just have to stick to that original game plan out there and you can't get greedy, and that's what I did just on that one swing."

But the poise he showed in his Masters debut wasn't lost on one of golf's emerging stars.

"Saturday and Sunday, there were definitely nerves throughout the rounds, but that's just going to happen," Spieth said. "The most important thing is channeling that positively and to use the adrenaline to hit it further and just to really enjoy the experience. I think that that's mainly what I took in from a lot of veterans: Just to kind of walk slower, look around and just enjoy it. It's difficult to do in that situation, but I felt like I did a pretty good job of it until Bubba started playing such great golf that I had to try and press.

"I actually felt very comfortable, and that gives me a lot of confidence going forward."

Spieth hopes to channel that confidence come the 2015 Masters.

"I just want to be back in that position because it was so much fun," he said.